What is sake classified as?

Sake is a type of brewed alcohol

Similar to beer and wine, sake is not a distilled but a brewed alcohol, made from fermented rice juice. Sake typically has 15% of alcohol by volume, which is much lower than general spirits such as tequila, whiskey, and gin.

How many different types of sake is there?

There are four basic types of sake, and each requires a different brewing method. Naturally, there are other special brewing techniques that are less common, but the four basic sake types are: Junmai-shu (rice only; no adding of distilled alcohol)

What is considered premium sake?

Ginjo-shu (premium sake) has at least 40% or more milled away. Daiginjo (super premium sake) has at least 50% or more milled away. What is the significance of the seimai-buai? The lower the number (i.e., the more the rice has been milled), the cleaner and more elegant the flavor.

What is the flavor profile of sake?

Sake is a mildly sweet, clean tasting drink with a well-balanced combination of astringent and savory flavor. It has a nutty, fruity aroma which is less pronounced than that of wine.

What type of sake is dry?

Niigata is especially known for a style of sake that is dry, with a clean and short finish. Iwate Prefecture also has many brands that make robust, dry sakes. Breweries in Kagoshima and Saga Prefecture in the south of Japan often make sweeter sake. Hiroshima, too, is known for a somewhat sweet and fruity style.

Which of the five basic tastes is sake known for?

Umami
Umami is one of the “five basic tastes”, along with sweetness, sourness, saltiness and bitterness. The primary contributors to umami in sake are amino acids, succinic acid, nucleotides, and such like, but it is also constituted to some extent by the complex products of the breakdown of rice and their tastes.

Does sake have different flavors?

The five flavours

Japanese tasters often assess a particular sake in terms of its go-mi, or five flavours. These are karami (dryness), nigami, (bitterness), shibumi (astringency or tartness), amami (sweetness) and sanmi (acidity).

Is daiginjo better than Ginjo?

While the ginjo category offers wonderful sakes, for a special occasion nothing quite compares to the elegance of Daiginjo. Daiginjo, which literally means “big ginjo,” is often the most prized bottling of the sake brewery, representing the height of the brewmaster’s ability.

What is Junmai sake?

Junmai often refers to sake that’s milled to 70%, but in the broad sense it means “pure rice sake.” Sometimes you’ll see several different categories of Junmai. Ginjo is milled to 60% Seimaibuai and daginjo is milled to 50%.

What is nigori sake?

Nigori literally means “cloudy sake”. Nigori is a style rather than a classification. Nigori style has rice solids (lees) suspended in the sake. Nigori is technically NOT unfiltered rather it is coarsely pressed (Sake undergoes both pressing and filtration). Nigori have wide range of texture and sweetness.

What is the finest in sake?

Best Daiginjo: Nanbu Bijin “Southern Beauty” Sake

It is considered the most premium style of sake. Hailing from Northern Japan’s Iwate Prefecture, this highly refined and “fragrant” bottle makes it “easy to understand what daiginjo is and why it’s great,” says Niikawa.

How do I know if my sake is premium?

On the other hand, premium sake is known as “tokutei meisho-shu”, or special designation sakes. The two criteria used to classify sake are the rice polishing ratio (how much of the rice grain is left after polishing) and if pure alcohol has been added or not.

How do you rate sake?

If the rice polishing rate is 50% or lower, the sake is called Dai-ginjo. If it is 60% or lower, then the sake is classified as Ginjo. If it is 70% or lower, then it is called Honjozo. Another thing you should know about the classification is whether distilled alcohol has been added to sake or not.

What does SMV mean in sake?

Sake Meter Value
SMV stands for Sake Meter Value and it measures the density of sake compared to water. In order to decide whether each sake is dry or sweet, the sake meter value (SMV), or in Japanese the nihonshu-do, is the scale used for measurement.